Meeting of Commissioners of
Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County, Washington
November 20, 2018
A meeting of Commissioners of Public Utility District No. 1 of Clark County was held at the Electric Center, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, Washington, on Tuesday, November 20, 2018.
Present: President Jim Malinowski, Vice President Nancy Barnes, Secretary Jane Van Dyke Commissioners, CEO/General Manager Wayne Nelson, Director of Operations Dan Krebs, Director of Communications Lena Wittler, Director of Engineering Cal Morris, Director of Water Doug Quinn, Director of Information Services Mike Harris, Director of Customer Service Lisa Fix, Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny, Director of Energy Resources Dan Bedbury, Corporate Communications Manager Erica Erland, Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker, Manager of Energy Planning and Operations Tom Haymaker, Fleet Manager Paul Chamberlain, Customer Service Manager Robert Hill, Water Engineering Manager Russ Knutson, Energy Services Project Manager Matt Babbitts and Assistant to CEO/General Manager Margaret Anderson.
Press Representatives: None
Others Present: Dameon Pesanti – Communications Contractor, Steve Andersen – EES Consulting, Zach Parrott – Imagine Energy, Terry Oliver, Don Steinke, Alona Steinke and Dale McLain (Materials A)
At 9:00 a.m., President Malinowski called the meeting to order for the transaction of formal business. Commissioner Malinowski noted a quorum was present and the agenda (Materials B) was approved as submitted.
Consideration of the Minutes of November 6, 2018
There were no changes or corrections.
Public Comment – Non Agenda Items
Terry Oliver shared information from a blockchain conference he attended in Florida.
Don Steinke shared with the board his thoughts on use of potential future utility surplus funds, long-range River Road Generating Plant use and replacement of natural gas use by 2030 with renewables.
The board thanked both members of the public for their comments and asked staff to provide a cost analysis on energy storage as it relates to renewable resources.
Consideration of Accounts Payable
The board, by a unanimous vote, approved the following payment amounts as listed on the Letter of Transmittal dated November 20, from the District Auditor:
Electric Revenue Fund – $7,945,789.40
Water Revenue Fund – $802,260.31
Generating System Fund – $51,131.23
For a total of $8,799,180.94
Solar Interconnection Request – Schurman Machine
Energy Services Project Manager Matt Babbitts reviewed with the board the solar project request submitted by Schurman Machine (Materials C). They are requesting to install an aggregated total of 200kW of solar PV at their business site. Commissioner Van Dyke moved to approve the request and to use the avoided cost rate that was set by Resolution 7410 to compensate the generation in excess of the first 100kW. Commissioner Barnes seconded the motion is passed unanimously
Consideration of Bid Award No. 551 – Paradise Point Water System
Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker reviewed the memo dated November 20, 2018, detailing the bid results (Materials D). Commissioner Van Dyke moved to recommend that Bid No. 551 be awarded to the low evaluated bidder, Rotschy Inc., in the amount of $8,462,449.10 plus applicable taxes. Commissioner Barnes seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Consideration of Bid Award No. 554 – Water Services Truck Bodies
Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker reviewed the memo dated November 20, 2018, detailing the bid results (Materials E). Commissioner Barnes moved to recommend that Bid No. 554 be awarded to the low evaluated bidder, Pacific Truck Colors, Inc. for the base bid plus (2) added cranes, in the total contract amount of $261,733.00, plus applicable taxes. Commissioner Van Dyke seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Consideration of Bid Award No. 557 – Water Inspector Truck Body
Materials and Purchasing Manager Cathy Wannamaker reviewed the memo dated November 20, 2018, detailing the bid results (Materials F). Commissioner Van Dyke moved to recommend that Bid No. 557 be awarded to the low evaluated bidder, Pacific Truck Colors, Inc. in the amount of $66,113.00, plus applicable taxes. Commissioner Barnes seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously.
Consideration of Uncollectable Accounts
Customer Service Manager Robert Hill addressed the board regarding the uncollectable debt for the first half of 2018 (Materials G). Mr. Hill stated the percentage of net losses from closed accounts to revenue is 0.33% for the first half of 2018, which is a slight increase from last year. Current projections indicate 2018 year-end uncollectable debt for the utility should be slightly lower than 2017, near $1.47 million total. The utility continues to compare favorably across the industry in regard to account delinquency.
Commissioner Barnes moved to approve charging $830,827.00 to uncollectable accounts for the first half of 2018. Commissioner Van Dyke seconded to motion it passed unanimously.
Bonneville Power Administration Terms and Conditions 2020 and Partial Rate Case Settlement Agreement
Manager of Energy Planning and Operations Tom Haymaker provided the board with a review of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Terms and Conditions for 2020 (TC-20) and a Partial 2020 Rate Case Settlement (BP-20) Agreement (Materials H). Mr. Haymaker credited Ryan Neale with Mill Creek Law Offices on behalf of the Western Public Agencies Group for the collaboration with BPA on these agreements.
Commissioner Barnes moved to authorize CEO/General Manager Wayne Nelson to sign the TC-20 Settlement Agreement and the BP-20 Partial Settlement Agreement and any other necessary documents as required by BPA to indicate Clark’s approval of the final negotiated terms of settlement. Commissioner Van Dyke seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.
Energy Imbalance Market Update
EES Consultant Steve Andersen provided the board with an update on Bonneville Power Administration’s (BPA) Western Energy Imbalance Market (Materials I). Along with an overview, Mr. Andersen provided BPA’s process outline, decision timeline, comment and workshop opportunities all leading to a planned record of decision late in the summer of 2019.
The board thanked Mr. Andersen for his presentation and said they look forward to more information on this topic in the future.
2019 Budget Summary
Director of Finance Melissa Ankeny provided an overview of the proposed 2019 budgets for the Electric, Generating and Water Systems (Materials J). Ms. Ankeny will back before the board to ask for direction regarding the use of the low income tax credit, Columbia Springs funding increase request, association memberships, and the approval of these budgets at the next Commission meeting on Tuesday, December 4, 2018.
Commissioner Reports and Comments
Commissioner Malinowski reported on his attendance at the Washington PUD Association meetings.
Commissioner Barnes and Commissioner Van Dyke reported on their attendance at the American Public Power Association Power Forward Conference.
Commission Malinowski congratulated Don Steinke on his Northwest Energy Coalition award.
Staff Reports
Manager of Energy Planning and Operations Tom Haymaker provided the board with an update on the pipeline rupture and its effect on recent gas prices, the River Road Generating Plant operations and market power purchases.
Public Comment
There were no comments.
Other Business before the Board
There being no further business to come before the Board, the was meeting adjourned at 11:55 a.m.